Becoming a Christian

What's Free?
Eternal Life!

If you were to die today, are you 100% sure you would go to Heaven?
Here's how you can be 100% sure that you are going to Heaven...

In a nutshell:
Admit - Confess to God you are a sinner. Repent and turn away from your sin.
Believe - Believe that Jesus is God’s Son, that He died on the cross so that we could be forgiven for our sins and have eternal life in heaven, and that He rose again and is alive now at the right hand of God
Commit - Commit your life to Jesus. Ask him to be your Savior and Lord

Need a little bit more? (Thanks to BC for sharing his message.)

1. Realize we are all sinners.


"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23
Yes, you too have fallen short of Heaven because of your sin. You may be better than many others, but compared to Jesus "there is none that doeth good." - Romans 3:10-12 Your heartfelt response ought to be, "God be merciful to me a sinner." - Luke 18:13

2. Realize there's a penalty.


"For the wages of sin is death..." - Romans 6:23a
There are two kinds of death, physical and spiritual. One we inherited from Adam and the other we earn by continuing to sin. If we die in this condition without Jesus Christ as our Savior, we must die a second death, eternally separated from God in hellfire and brimstone: "which is the second death." - Revelation 21:8

3. Realize that Jesus Christ, God's perfect sacrifice, has already paid our sin debt in full.


"...how that Christ died for our sins."- 1 Corinthians 15:3
When Jesus died on the cross, He paid for all of our sins with His precious blood and bridged the gap that separated us from God. You must realize that Jesus Christ was not a sinner and that God took all of our sins and placed them on Jesus at the cross. While Jesus was bearing all of our sins in His own body, God punished Him in our place to pay in full our sin debt.

4. Realize you must receive by faith Jesus Christ as your Savior and accept His free gift of eternal life.


"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God..." - John 1:12a
"...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."- Romans 6:23b
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." - Romans 10:13

Whosoever means you. If you by simple faith will trust in Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection for your salvation, you can be 100% sure that you are going to Heaven.

Why not trust Jesus now and pray this simple prayer? Remember, it is not the prayer that saves you but your sincere, heartfelt belief.
Lord Jesus, I believe You died, were buried, and rose again to pay for my sins. Be merciful to me a sinner and save me from hell. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me and making me Your child.

Still have questions? Read on. Sometimes just hearing something in a different way can help us to understand.

Can you really know for sure that when you die you are going to be in heaven?
So what do I have to do to know for sure?
What is sin?
Okay, I admit that I'm a sinner. Why can't God just let me work off my sins by doing good deeds?
Who is Jesus?
So I'm forgiven, right?
Is there no other way to get to heaven?
I want to accept that gift. How do I do that?
I don't understand. What do I say?
Anything else I need to know?
One more thing...why should I be baptized? I was baptized in my present church.

Have more questions? Please feel free to send me note using the e-mail form on the home page.
Other sites with a similar message (sometimes it helps to hear things in a different way for it to make sense)
LifeSongs

 

Can you know for sure that when you die you are going to be in heaven?

Yes, you can. Read on to find out how.

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Okay, so what do I have to do to know for sure?

Well, the first step is to admit that you're a sinner. (I am.) The Bible says, "For ALL have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God."  (Romans 3:23)

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What is sin?

Sin is when we break God's rules (laws). It's when we do things that are displeasing to God. Sin is choosing your way instead of God's way. Things such as lying, cheating, deceit, anger, evil thoughts, immoral behavior, pride, bad attitudes are sin. There are way too many sins to list here. God loves us, but He hates sin. Sin separates us from God.

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Okay, I admit that I'm a sinner. Why can't God just let me work off my sins by doing good deeds?

Well, how many good deeds do you want to do? 1, 10, 100, 1000, a million? How many good deeds will make us good enough to be in the presence of the Most Holy God? The answer is that no amount of good deeds would make us pure enough to be in God's presence. God is just. He must punish sins. What kind of Father would He be to let us just continue to do things which hurt us? One might ask what kind of judge would let a criminal off with no punishment? But God is also merciful. He made a way for us to be wiped clean. Jesus. And I might add, He's the ONLY way.

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Who is Jesus ?

Jesus is the infinite God-Man. He is God's Son. He is divine because He IS God. Although He became a man, He did not stop being God. He has always been around (even before He became man) because He is God. "In the beginning was the Word (Jesus)...and the Word (Jesus) was God. And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." John 1:1,14  He made a precious sacrifice for you and for me. He gave His very life so that our sins would be paid for. Then He rose bodily into heaven. He didn't have to do it. He chose to do it. He loves us that much. God loves us that much.  He didn't do it for His own benefit but for ours. It was a GIFT. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

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So I'm forgiven, right?

Well, look at it this way. If I gave you a gift and set it on the table in front of you, but you left my house without accepting the gift and taking it with you, would it be yours? No, you would need to accept the gift from me, just as you must accept the gift from God.

Maybe you belong to a church that has already taught you about Jesus and how He died on the cross for your sins. That's great! Now you only need to accept that gift - to truly believe and trust that what Jesus did was good enough! Nothing else is necessary. You don't need to "help" by doing good deeds to earn your way. Jesus was sinless. God has said that Jesus' sacrifice was all that was needed for the forgiveness of sins. Should we still do good deeds? Of course! If someone had given his life for you, wouldn't you want to do everything you could to show your appreciation? Of course, that's not the only reason. You want to help others. You want them to know Jesus. You don't want to see anyone you care about end up in hell forever. And remember, we are talking about ETERNAL life here. Eternal means forever and ever, always. This is a forever decision. We are also to follow the example Jesus gave - following the commandments and honoring the word of His Father.

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Is there no other way to get to heaven?

Nope. There is no other way. The Bible says "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12 The ONLY way to God is through faith in Jesus. There are also no "second chances". No one can pray you into heaven. You can't do time in some other place being allowed to enter the presence of God. Before you die, your decision must be made.

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I want to accept that gift. How do I do that?

There are a few things you need to do to show God that you accept His gift.

1) Believe that Jesus died for you, that He paid for your sins, that He rose from the dead and is alive today. He is sitting at the right hand of the Father, praying for you. By doing this, you are trusting Jesus to forgive you. You trust in His death and resurrection alone for your salvation. In other words, you believe that Jesus' death on the cross, and that alone, did the job, just as God said. This is saving faith. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" Acts 16:31

2) Repent, which means to be sorry for your sins and turn away from them. Ask God to forgive you. That doesn't mean you will never sin or be tempted to sin again. You will. We are born in the flesh (a human body) which means that we will be tempted to sin and it's a lot easier (but still wrong) for us to say yes to sin than to do what we know Jesus wants us to do.

3) Ask Jesus to be your Lord (Master/Ruler) and Savior. Decide to live your life to please Him.

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I don't understand. What do I say?

All you have to do is tell God how you feel. Prayer is simply talking to God. The words that you use are not important as God knows your heart. Here is a sample prayer:

"Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I know that I can't earn my own way to heaven. I believe Jesus died on the cross so I could be forgiven and have eternal life in heaven. I believe He rose from the grave. I  am truly sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. Lord Jesus, come and take control of my life. Help me to live for you.  Thank you for hearing me and for saving me. I accept the precious gift of eternal life. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen."

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Anything else I need to know?

If you have prayed the above prayer or one similar and truly meant it, you are now a child of God. Welcome to the family of God! The Bible says that your old life is gone and your new life is just beginning - your new life in Christ. You are changed. You may not feel differently at all but if you were sincere in your profession of faith, you will begin to see changes in your life. Maybe it will be a decision you make differently today than you would have yesterday. In order to grow in your faith and become a mature Christian, you should begin to read and study God's Word. One way to do this is to join a Bible believing church and attend Sunday School. Perhaps there is a small group Bible study in your neighborhood that you would enjoy.

You may want to follow this decision with baptism.

Remember that Jesus will never leave you. You can never lose this precious gift. Jesus will always be with you!

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One more thing...why should I be baptized? I was baptized in my present church.

The Bible says that we should confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord. By being baptized, we are announcing to the rest of the church community that we belong to the Lord and are now part of the Christian family. Baptism should come after we are Christians. When we are immersed in the water of baptism we are identifying with the death and burial of Jesus. When we are brought up out of the water, we identify with the resurrection of Jesus. Baptism, then, pictures our death to sin and our resurrection to a new life in Christ. If you were baptized after you accepted God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, you do not have to be baptized again. If the baptism preceded this, then it would be good to be baptized again. Your salvation does not depend on this, however.

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Don't take MY word for it, go to GOD's Word and check it out!

If you, like me, find it hard to read the small print in many Bibles, you can listen to the King James Version of the Bible at http://www.audio-bible.com/bible/bible.html
or check here for other versions  http://www.audio-bible.com/links.html

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